Completion of upper secondary education: Predictions of the psychosocial learning environment and academic achievement

Abstract

Background Lack of upper secondary school completion (dropout) is a serious concern. Psychosocial factors of the learning environment, such as perceived emotional support from teachers and loneliness among peers remain largely unstudied as predictors of completion.

Aims The main aim of this five-year longitudinal study was to investigate whether psychosocial learning environment factors experienced early in upper secondary school contribute to the likelihood of school completion; either directly, or indirectly via academic achievement.

Sample Participants were 1241 upper secondary school students in Norway.

Methods A longitudinal panel design combining register data and student self-reports was implemented. Register data included GPA from the end of lower secondary school, GPA from the end of first of year of upper secondary school, and upper secondary school completion. Self-reports included perception of emotional support from teachers and loneliness among peers in the first year of upper secondary school. Control variables were gender, study track, and immigrant background. A structural equation model with completion (vs. dropout) as the outcome was estimated in Mplus.

Results An indirect positive effect on completion was found for emotional support from teachers, mediated by subsequent academic achievement. A direct negative effect on completion was found for loneliness among peers. Among students with pronounced loneliness, completion rate was 10 percentage points lower than among those reporting no loneliness.

Conclusions Loneliness among peers was identified as a substantial risk factor for school dropout. On the other hand, findings indicate that sufficient perceived emotional support from teachers can promote completion.